Fodder-cutter.



J. w. HALSTEAD.

PODDBR CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2a, 1908.

933,901, v Patented Sept. 14, 1909.

v 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES; Q INVENTOR J. )1 19M. QQJX=KMML g t). 6? By Mfi Ammzwv a. GRANAM 00., PNUYO LITNOGRAPHERS. WASHINGTON. n. a

I. W. HALSTEAD.

FODDER CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED mnzs, 1908.

Patented Sept. 14,1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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J. W. HALSTEAD. FODDER CUTTER.

APPLIOATION FILED mums. 1908.

933,901, l Patented Sept.14,1909.

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Alt/army s UNrrD srArnys JOHN w. HALsTnAD, on KANs s CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO THE WOLF COMPANY,

A- CORPORATION or PENNSYLVANIA.

FODDER-CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept 14,1901} Application filed March 28, 1908.

Serial No. 423,873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J orIN WV. HALsrEAD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Fodder-Cutters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention-relates to a machine for cutting or grinding fodder and similar material, more particularly alfalfa, although capable of operating upon other material of a similar character.

The objects of my invention are to provide parts, all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one construction in which my invention may be embodied, Figure 1 is a plan view with the cover or top casing removed; Fig. 2 is a central, vertical, longitudinal section; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but on an enlarged scale, of the stationary cutters and their associated parts; Fig. 4 is'anenlarged plan view of the stationary cutters.

The machine frame 12 comprises a suitable base member 14 provided with side plates 15, 15, and a cover or top casing 16, and is provided with suitable supports for a feed table 13. Suitably journaled in the frame 12, or in bearing boxes supported thereby, are a main driving shaft 17, a cutter shaft 18, and a pair of feed roll shafts 19, 19 one of which is preferably yieldingly mounted for vertical movement relative to the other in any suitable manner.

The cutter shaft 18 is driven from the main driving shaft-17 by a suitable belt' and is preferably controlled by means of a manually operable belt tightener indicated at 20 by dotted lines in Fig. 2. The feed rolls 21, 21, mounted on the shafts 19, 19, are likewise driven from the shaft 17, but at a lower rate of speed than the cutter-shaft 18, by means of suitable belts 22, 22 connecting pulleys 23, 23 on the shaft 17 and pulleys 24:, 24 on the shafts 19, 19.

The cutting or grinding elements comprise a plurality of rotary cutters 25, 25 and a plurality of co-acting stationary cutters 26, 26. The preferred construction of these two sets of cutters will now be described.

Fixed to the cutter shaft 18 is a rotating drum or cylinder 27 upon which are mounted the rotary cutters 25, 25, said cutters being constructed preferably in the form of circular or slightly elliptical saws inclined to the axis of the drum 27 and shaft 18. By virtue of theelliptical form and inclined arrangement of the saws 25, 25, said saws or cutters are enabled to cooperate with the stationary cutters 26, 26 with a lateral shearing or grinding action which is very effective in properly disintegrating or comminuting the material operated upon.

The. stationary cutters 26, 26, of which there are preferably some six or eight, but which may of any suitable number, are constructed in the form of bars extending transversely of the machine in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of the shaft 18 and arranged with their cutting edges 28 lying in a curved surface substantially parallel with the edges of the rotary cutters 25. The ends of the cutter bars 26 are held in a pair of curved frames or cages 29, 29 in which said cutter bars are independently adjustable toward and from the rotary cutters by means of adjusting screws 30, 30, provided with lock nuts 31, 31, said cutter bars being clamped in adjusted position in said frames or cages by means of clamp screws 32, 32-provided with lock nuts 33, 33. The cutterbars 26 are formed withtheir adjacent sides slightly converging. toward the cutting edges 28, thereby making said cutter bars substantially w'edgeor keystoneshaped in cross section, by virtue of which they are firmly and securely held in adjusted position in the cages 29 by means of the screws 30 and 32.

The frames or cages 29 are each provided with a curved flange 34, and are guided into and held in operative position in the machine by means of curved front and rear flanges, 35 and 36 respectively, formed on the side plates 15, 15, of the frame 12. The rear flanges 36 are provided with upturned rotary saw cutters point.

lower ends 37 adapted to engage the flanges 34: at their lower ends to support the frames or cages 29 at the bottom, while said frames or cages are held in place against the flanges 35 by screws 38, 38 passing through the flanges 36 and engaging the flanges 8st.

As will now be seen the individual cutter bars 26 may be independently adjusted to compensate for the necessary grinding of their cutting edges 28 by means of the screws 30.

The combination of the inclined ellipticalaction on the material, which results in the necessary disintegration, while this action is successively repeated by the various cutter bars26, thereby insuring a quick, even, and thorough comminution of the material at a single passage through the machine. The construction substantially as hereinbefore described, of the means for supporting the stationary cutters makes practicable the employment of' a plurality of such cutters, since it makes possible the independent sharpening and adjustment of the individual cutter bars and at thesame time permits the adjustment of the cutters collectively with respect tothe rotary cutters.

The stationary cutters 26', consisting of longitudinal bars arranged parallel to the axis of the rotary saw cutters and 'of a-length equal, or approximately so, to the length-ofthe drum or cylinder carrying the said rotary saw'cutters 25, are contiguous to each other and, are beveled off at their inner edges so as to form a transverse series of'longitudinal'shearin'g edges the apexes of which arearranged to point in a direction opposite to the direction in which the teeth on the In other words the shearing-edges of the stationary cutting bars or cutters 26 mostly point upwardly, while the adjacent teeth of the rotary saw cutters point downwardly, thereby adapting the machine for efiecting the grinding and progressive diagonal shearing action on the material above referred to by the conjoint cooperation of the rotary saw cutters, set at an angle. to their axis of rotation,-and thelongitudinal stationary bar cutters arranged to-form a series of cutting edges pointing in a direction opposite that in which the teeth of the cooperating rotary saws are arranged to point.

Partly surrounding the rotary cutters at their rear is a preferably removable and interchangeable curved screen 39 through which the reduced material passes after its passage through the cutters. Extending over the forward upper portions of the rotary cutters is a curved hood 40 cooperating withwh-ichis a deflector 41. Such portions of the material as escape complete disintegration in a single passage through the cutters, anpl failto pass through the sc'reen'SS), will be carried upwardly bythe rotary cut-- ters 25 andthrown against the curved hood 40 and deflector 4:1 by which they will be returned to-the cutters for further reduction. While I, in order'that my invention ma'y be readily understood, haveshown and de scribed the same as'embodied in a-particular construction,- I wishit to be distinctly understood that I do notconfine myself'to the precise construction shown and described, it being obvious that many changes might be imade therein without departing from the Espirit and-scope ofmy invention: I Having thus described my invention I iclaim as new and desirelto secure by Let- ?ters Patent 1; In a machine ofthe' character described,--

the combinationwitha plurality of rotary isaw cutters set at anang-le to their'axis -of Erotation, of a plurality of stationary bar gcut'ters arranged parallel to the axis-of=rotation of saidrotarysaw cutters and coop-I erating therewith, said barcutters being beveled at their inner edges'to form*aseries of shear cutting edges which are arranged to pointin a direction opposite that in which the teeth of the said rotary saw cutters point. V

2; In a machine of the character described,

the combination'with a pluralityof rotary saw cutters set at=-an-angle to their a' xis ofrota-tion, of a plurality of stationary bar cutters arranged parallel to the axis of rota e tion of said rotary saw cutters and map: crating therewith, said bar cutters belng beveled at their inner: edges to form a series ofshear cutting edges which are arrangedzto point in a direction opposite that in wh'ich the teeth of the said rotary saw" cutters point, said stationary bar; cutters being wedge shaped in cross section andbe-ing located contiguous to each other: i

3. In amachine of the character described, the combination with a plurality of rotary saw cutters set at an angle to their axi s'of rotation, of a plurality ofstationary bar cut ters-arranged parallel-to the axisofrotation of said rotary saw cutte-rs and coop erating' therewith, said bar cutters; beingv beveled at their inner edges reform a se ries of shear cutting edges which are*arranged to point ina direction' opposite that in which the teeth of the said rotary saw cut tiers point, the curved frames or cages 29-supporting saidstationary bar cut-tersat their ends and provided with curved flanges 34:, the screws 30 by which said bar cutters may be independently adjusted in said frames or cages, the screws 32 by which said bars are secured in said frames or cages, the screws 38 by which the frames or cages are held in place, and the machine-frame side-plates 15 provided with the curved flanges 35 against which the flanges 34 of said frames or cages are held by said screws 88.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a plurality of rotary saw cutters, set at an angle to their axis of rotation, of a plurality of stationary bar cutters arranged parallel to the aXis of rotation of said rotary saw cutters and cooperating therewith, said bar cutters being beveled at their inner edges to form a series of shear cutting edges which are arranged to point in a direction opposite that in which the teeth of the said rotary saw cutters point,

said stationary bar cutters being wedgeshaped in cross section and being located contiguous to each other, the frames or cages 29 supporting said stationary bar cutters at their ends and provided with curved flanges 34, the screws 30 by which said bar cutters may be independently adjusted in said frames or cages, the screws 82 by which said bars are secured in said frames or cages, the screws 38 by which the frames or cages are held in place, and the machine-frame sideplates 15 provided with the curved flanges 35 against which the flanges 34 of said frames or cages are held by said screws 38.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

' JOHN w. HALSTEAD.

Witnesses:

IRMA MOCLELLAN, E. B. FREEMAN. 

